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"Be the person your dog thinks you are." ~Unknown.We welcome comments. Supportive feedback is what we enjoy most, but tips for improvement are valued too. It’s not required that you agree with us, only that you express your opinion civilly. Comments are moderated and will be posted following review. Read more.

Entries from October 2014

October 29, 2014

We are joyous that 45 cats and 26 dogs were adopted last week! We are so grateful to our amazing staff and volunteers for their wonderful help uniting these pets with new, loving families. You can help spread the word about our available pets and lifesaving work by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on Facebook and tumblr. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Our adoption center is open every day of the week: Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit our website to see some of our dogs and cats currently available for adoption, for directions to our Robins-Starr Humane Center, to view the programs and services we offer, and more.

Adoption Specials

October is Adopt a Dog Month! When you adopt an adult dog through the end of this month, the adoption fee will be reduced by 15 percent. We can't wait to help you meet your perfect match!

We're celebrating our feline friends each Friday in October with a special Feline Fridays adoption promotion! The adoption fee of all cats will be reduced by 20 percent.

Match Finder tool

If you have not seen the pet you’re looking for among the cats and dogs currently available at our humane center, we recommend that you try our free Match Finder tool. This online tool is designed to help you find your new best friend by automatically emailing you when a pet matching your desired criteria is available. If you have any questions, please contact our amazing adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Offsite adoptions

In addition to having many wonderful cats at our humane center, we also have several felines at the Carytown location of PETCO. If you would like to learn more about these felines or set up an appointment to meet them in person, please call our adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Alumni updates

Our staff and volunteers love to know what our precious adoptees are up to, so please keep us posted! If you would like to share a picture or story of your adopted pet, please send us an email. If you would like to see your pet featured on one of our social media sites, please tell us in your message that we may share your update.

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

October 24, 2014

While my messages to you often concern the dogs and cats which the Richmond SPCA shelters each day, it is an important part of our mission that we are called to be advocates for all animals. A paper introduced in the Richmond City Council to address the treatment of elephants provides just such an opportunity, and I am writing to ask that you lend your voice to speak for these intelligent, majestic animals who are forced to perform through punishing treatment with implements of cruelty.

The paper patroned by council members Chris Hilbert, Charles Samuels and Parker Agelasto seeks to ban the use of bullhooks and similar tools designed to inflict pain as well as the brandishing or exhibiting of such implements in order to train or control the behavior of an elephant. Such actions would become a Class 2 misdemeanor effective January 1, 2017 with the passage of the ordinance.

Please join us in supporting this measure by contacting your representative on City Council to urge a vote in favor of the paper when it comes before council. I encourage you to visit this link to determine the member of council who represents you. Those who profit from the cruel treatment of animals have been very vocal since the paper was introduced last week, and we as animal advocates need to stand together to say loud and clear that there is nothing radical about opposing the use of bullhooks on elephants. These are intelligent, sensitive animals with deep family relationships. Every child and adult who loves animals recoils upon learning that elephants endure painful stabbing to force them to perform unnatural stunts.

The adoption of this ordinance will further distinguish Richmond as a leader in the humane treatment of animals, but your help is essential to ensuring that outcome.

Thank you for your love of animals and your prompt action on this crucial issue!

Updates, Oct. 28, 2014:

The Council agenda indicates that this issue is on schedule for the Dec. 8 meeting of Council. We expect that the paper will be heard by a committee in November, and we will provide further information as it becomes available.

Some have indicated that it would be helpful to have a sample message to send. However, it is important that constituents use their own words when calling or writing members of council and only only contact a council member if you are a resident of his or her voting district. Unique messages carry more weight than those received in duplicate. Messages should politely ask the council member to vote in favor of the ban on bullhooks and ensure more humane treatment of elephants visiting our city with traveling shows. You may also wish to state that pain and punishment of captive animals have no place in family entertainment.

Additional facts that could be incorporated:

The use of bullhooks results in trauma, suffering and physical injury, often including lacerations, puncture wounds and abscesses to an elephant’s sensitive skin, which is rich in nerve endings and susceptible to abrasions.

Elephant sanctuaries and most accredited zoos that house elephants no longer use these barbaric devices and instead rely exclusively on positive reinforcement, such as treats and praise.

At least 40 US municipalities have passed full or partial restrictions on the use of wild animals in public displays and/or the use of bullhooks and more than 30 countries have passed national restrictions.

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires both your first and last name to be used as your screen name.

We also hope that you will take a moment to read Michael Paul Williams’ excellent column that appeared in Friday's Times-Dispatch. In this column, Mr. Williams discusses the miserable lives to which wild animals are subjected in circuses. We agree with his well written piece and believe that the proposed ordinance that is before City Council to ban bullhooks is an important step in the right direction of a more humane circus.

October 20, 2014

We are joyous that 30 cats and 20 dogs were adopted last week! We are so grateful to our amazing staff and volunteers for their wonderful help uniting these pets with new, loving families. You can help spread the word about our available pets and lifesaving work by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on Facebook and tumblr. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Our adoption center is open every day of the week: Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit our website to see some of our dogs and cats currently available for adoption, for directions to our Robins-Starr Humane Center, to view the programs and services we offer, and more.

Adoption Specials

October is Adopt a Dog Month! When you adopt an adult dog through the end of this month, the adoption fee will be reduced by 15 percent. We can't wait to help you meet your perfect match!

We're celebrating our feline friends each Friday in October with a special Feline Fridays adoption promotion! The adoption fee of all cats will be reduced by 20 percent.

Match Finder tool

If you have not seen the pet you’re looking for among the cats and dogs currently available at our humane center, we recommend that you try our free Match Finder tool. This online tool is designed to help you find your new best friend by automatically emailing you when a pet matching your desired criteria is available. If you have any questions, please contact our amazing adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Offsite adoptions

In addition to having many wonderful cats at our humane center, we also have several felines at the Carytown location of PETCO. If you would like to learn more about these felines or set up an appointment to meet them in person, please call our adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Alumni updates

Our staff and volunteers love to know what our precious adoptees are up to, so please keep us posted! If you would like to share a picture or story of your adopted pet, please send us an email. If you would like to see your pet featured on one of our social media sites, please tell us in your message that we may share your update.

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

October 16, 2014

In honor of National Feral Cat Day, the Richmond SPCA commends the hard work of many hundreds of feral cat volunteer caretakers within Richmond and the surrounding communities. These dedicated transporters, educators and coordinators help ensure that feral cats are provided with essential sterilization and vaccination against rabies. The difference made within the community by these inspiring community volunteers is immeasurable.

Trap-Neuter-Return (abbreviated as TNR) is a process in which feral cats are transported in humane cat traps, sterilized, vaccinated, and then returned to the feral colony which is their home. This method is the only humane and effective way to manage free-roaming cat populations. These groups of cats living on their own are referred to as colonies, and they form where there are adequate sources of food, water and shelter resources. Anytime you observe a cat with a “tipped ear,” you are observing the work of these dedicated volunteers. The ear tip conveys that a cat has been through the TNR process and serves as proof that the animal has been sterilized and vaccinated against rabies. The benefits of TNR include fewer homeless kittens being born and diminished nuisance behaviors, plus improvement of overall health.

Jeff and Kris Griffin, a hardworking husband and wife team began their TNR work by merging their seemingly opposing passions: fishing and cats. According to the active couple, “It took strategy, patience, and you had to think like the cat.” Their interests aligned and their service to the community continues. When asked what keeps the couple moving forward with their efforts, they responded, “It’s for the thousands of [homeless] kittens that we will never see, because of our trapping.”

The inspirational words of Tara Boulier, a veteran trapper, ring true to the cause, “keep calm, educate and persevere.” It is a motto like this that resonates within the caretaker community. The work can appear to be never ending and there seems to always be another newly discovered colony in need of help. The intensive volunteer efforts highlight why education is so vital to the TNR effort. Caretakers, such as Tara Boulier and Steve Kelley, tirelessly advocate for community cats. Because feral cats are not socialized to people, they are not susceptible of adoption. Community caretakers advocate for their safety and protection. This work includes educating the public about the lives and needs of feral cat colonies. When asked what sustains their ongoing efforts, Kelley and Boulier answered, “the reward of knowing that we improved the life of a precious animal, that feeling is what keeps us going.”

The Richmond SPCA is proud to work in conjunction with volunteer caretakers to continue delivering effective and lifesaving TNR programs. Just in the last two years, our Clinic for Compassionate Care has sterilized, vaccinated, de-wormed and delivered other routine care while under anesthesia to more than 3,500 feral cats. These services are provided free of charge thanks to the charitable support of generous donors, which make it possible for the cats to live out their natural lifespan in their outdoor homes. In honor of National Feral Cat Day, the Richmond SPCA would like to thank all volunteers who dedicate their time to community cats. The Richmond SPCA’s mission, to practice and promote the principal that every life is precious, is truly exemplified in the volunteer work associated with community cat care, and for that we are immensely grateful.

If you are interested in learning more about the lifesaving work that can be accomplished through the Trap Neuter Return program and feral cat care, please visit our website.

Tori Williams is the coordinator of client services at the Richmond SPCA's Clinic for Compassionate Care.To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

October 07, 2014

We are overjoyed that 96 pets were adopted last week! Sept. 30 marked the end of our fiscal year and we are happy to share that our wonderful team united 3,562 pets with loving homes in our last fiscal year. How wonderful! We are so grateful to our amazing staff and volunteers for their wonderful help uniting these pets with new, loving families. You can help spread the word about our available pets and lifesaving work by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on Facebook and tumblr. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Our adoption center is open every day of the week: Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit our website to see some of our dogs and cats currently available for adoption, for directions to our Robins-Starr Humane Center, to view the programs and services we offer, and more.

Adoption Specials

October is Adopt a Dog Month! When you adopt an adult dog through the end of this month, the adoption fee will be reduced by 15 percent. We can't wait to help you meet your perfect match!

We're celebrating our feline friends each Friday in October with a special Feline Fridays adoption promotion! The adoption fee of all cats will be reduced by 20 percent.

Match Finder tool

If you have not seen the pet you’re looking for among the cats and dogs currently available at our humane center, we recommend that you try our free Match Finder tool. This online tool is designed to help you find your new best friend by automatically emailing you when a pet matching your desired criteria is available. If you have any questions, please contact our amazing adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Offsite adoptions

In addition to having many wonderful cats at our humane center, we also have several felines at the Carytown location of PETCO. We also have cats available for adoption at the Children's Museum of Richmond - Chesterfield. If you would like to learn more about these felines or set up an appointment to meet them in person, please call our adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Alumni updates

Our staff and volunteers love to know what our precious adoptees are up to, so please keep us posted! If you would like to share a picture or story of your adopted pet, please send us an email. If you would like to see your pet featured on one of our social media sites, please tell us in your message that we may share your update.

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

October 01, 2014

We are thrilled that 75 pets were adopted last week! We are so grateful to our amazing staff and volunteers for their wonderful help uniting these pets with new, loving families. You can help spread the word about our available pets and lifesaving work by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on Facebook and tumblr. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Our adoption center is open every day of the week: Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit our website to see some of our dogs and cats currently available for adoption, for directions to our Robins-Starr Humane Center, to view the programs and services we offer, and more.

Adoption Specials

October is Adopt a Dog Month! When you adopt an adult dog through the end of this month, the adoption fee will be reduced by 15 percent. We can't wait to help you meet your perfect match!

Match Finder tool

If you have not seen the pet you’re looking for among the cats and dogs currently available at our humane center, we recommend that you try our free Match Finder tool. This online tool is designed to help you find your new best friend by automatically emailing you when a pet matching your desired criteria is available. If you have any questions, please contact our amazing adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Offsite adoptions

In addition to having many wonderful cats at our humane center, we also have several felines at the Carytown location of PETCO. We also have cats available for adoption at the Children's Museum of Richmond - Chesterfield. If you would like to learn more about these felines or set up an appointment to meet them in person, please call our adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Alumni updates

Our staff and volunteers love to know what our precious adoptees are up to, so please keep us posted! If you would like to share a picture or story of your adopted pet, please send us an email. If you would like to see your pet featured on one of our social media sites, please tell us in your message that we may share your update.

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.